jane's apron

glitter

I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of glitter.  No matter how careful I am, it makes a mess and I walk around with glitter on my face all day.   Am I doing something wrong? Is there some no-mess glitter trick I don't know about?  

If I do use glitter on a project, it's only a very small amount...just a hint of sparkle.  That's what I did for some new notecards I made using my printed noteflats.  I trimmed the noteflat to fit a standard A2 card, layered it on the card, and added a bit of shine to the package ribbon.  

A set of 3 seems like a good number so I'm adding these to my etsy shop today.

I have not had a chance to give my zipper foot a try this week but I know I can get to it this weekend so look for that here next week.  I am also working on my tutorial project for my month at A Year of Color (yellow!)...if you are participating, look for my project on Monday.  

twirly

I may have set a new record for time between purchase and use of fabric.  I just bought these two weeks ago and turned them into a twirly skirt for my daughter.  There's a serious amount of gathering in this skirt and it twirls like a champ.  My instinct is to keep the skirt for "nice" occasions but I think I'll let Ellen wear this anytime she wants all summer.  

I'm sorry for the color overload on the picture of the skirt. My Target had all the Orla Kiely stuff 50% off and I brought a few things home.  When I put the finished skirt in the dining room, I couldn't believe the color match it had with tablecloth.   I also bought some place mats that I plan to turn into zipper pouches (and learn to use the zipper foot on my machine).  If it turns out OK, I'll give one away here this week (or next).  

So school's out for everybody here.  Lots of planned stuff but lots of time for unplanned stuff too...just like here on the blog...we'll see where the summer takes us.  

new pocket mirror

Back to more mundane topics (yeah...mundane is good)...

I had my heart-wing-tattoo-girl collage made into pocket mirrors last week.   I love the whole attitude of this one. Kind of demure...kind of not.  

angels and ...

If it's possible to get all of your bad/dramatic stuff out of the way in one week, then I think we might have done it last week and I am ready to move on.  Sadness, happiness, silliness, freakishness, and the cosmically unexplainable...

My mom in the hospital (she is fine but we are getting her a new doctor), a bout of food poisoning (and crazy amount of attention and phone calls I got after letting the company know about it)...  I am not a "what if" girl (nor am I a Pollyanna about the neighborhood I live near) but am a still a little wide-eyed about how close (moments) my daughter and I came to being in the direct path of a high-speed car leaving a brutal shooting... a serious case of the giggles at the 2nd grade author's tea (had to leave the room), a emotional last day of school for my son's 8th grade class (I think they all were surprised to find themselves crying)...

We also said goodbye to our little cat Nancy.  She was with us everyday for 18 years (our first "kid") and we miss her. Within an hour of losing her, my husband sat down at our son's baseball game...and a little cat ran out of the bushes and jumped up on his lap and sat with him.  So, so weird how everything works.

Hoping for an uneventful week around here...so far, so good.

possibility

Now that I'm getting better at sewing, I treated myself to some fancier fabric.  The brown and blue fabric will be made into a skirt for my daughter...going to learn how to add a simple elastic waistband. 

I'm not sure why but I never like things that match...like matched outfits, or matching shoes and purse, or coordinated bedding sets...something about it makes me uncomfortable.   I'm kind of the same way with coordinating fabrics.  I know why they are designed that way but I really enjoy making my own mix.  One of my favorite things at Sew Mamma Sew is their "Guest FQ Pack Designer".  Did you see the one from Alicia Paulson?  I could mix-n-match fabric swatches all day long.  

I don't think it matters what your plans are for a stack of fabric...it's more about the possibility it brings.  Like all those stacks of scrapbook paper, I have no idea what I'll use it for but know it will be there when an idea comes to me.    

target cheerfulness

I've debated about posting today...it has just not been a great couple of days around here and I figured it would probably "show through" in a blog post.   But then I changed my mind and decided if I share something funny from yesterday it will make me feel better (so this post is kind of self-help for me but maybe will make you smile too).  

The kids will be getting out of school soon and that, along with a WSJ article about online shopping lists, prompted me to make a change in my errand running.  It's not a major change...I just decided to cut my weekly trip to Target down to every two weeks.  I really don't know why I mentioned it to anyone in my family but I did...and I was met with such resistance and "oh the humanity" drama that you'd have thought I told them that Target burned to the ground.  "What will we eat?"  "What if I really, really need something?" "Why do you feel the need to change our lifestyle?"  So anyway...

I brought my new "two week" shopping list to Target yesterday.  I was a little later than usual.  As I made my way through the giant market pantry area (and avoided the whole tempting Orla area) one of the Target girls said in a very friendly voice "Hi! How are you doing today?"  I answered with a nice "Just fine...how are you?".   And then she said "You are out a little later than usual today". Oh. No.  I'm a recognized shopper at Target.  I can't help but worry that they'll wonder where I am next Monday.   

When I do go back in a few Mondays, I'm going to change things up a little bit and finally buy those Orla dish towels I've had my eye on (that refuse to go on clearance).  The cheerful purse pictured was sewn by Kristena at thimblythings.  I love the yellow trim she used and the cuteness of the ruffle...a burst of sunshine that I'm grateful for today.   

my little peony

Someone told me that when a peony is transferred it takes five years for it to bloom.  I've never attempted to verify this fact but know that I transferred this one from our old house to our new house ten years ago and it took her quite a while to bloom.   But worth the wait.   I lifted a few heavy blooms into my vintage planter so we could see their pretty faces. 

Happy Mother's Day...hope it's a beautiful one.

may flowers

Don't you just love a pretty flower?  In a painting, on fabric, or carefully handmade with paper, aluminum, wire, and vintage buttons?  I do...and I love my whole bouquet of them from my May Basket swap partner Jen.  

I also love the felted flower pin from Jen's etsy shop.  Who needs Anthropologie?...add the pin to a pretty sweater and I'm all set.

Of course, Jen included lots of other goodies like vintage papers and pretty trims (thank you!) but my favorites are these...

The tulips are bag clips and the bird is a fruit peeler (!!)...cute and practical makes me so happy.  

simplicity 5704

Simplicity 5704 View E...but with the square neck and without the bows on the sleeve...in a pretty polished cotton with satin ribbon.   And a little prettier when it's on the model...

If sewing is about confidence, then I think I've finally developed a bit of it.  Ready to take on some more...probably not another dress but definitely some skirts, some tops, some fun stuff. 

loose ends

Just a bunch of little stuff today...some loose ends to tie up as the new month starts:

• I finished the dress and will share it next week.  It looks so cute on her...simple and pretty like a little girl dress should be.  Thanks everyone for the encouragement.  Now I feel that I can sew just about anything.  
• My etsy shop has been slightly neglected and I plan to update it starting next week with some fun summer-y goods...stitched notebooks, clipboards, new notecards and pocket mirrors. I'll also gift wrap any purchase in pretty sewing pattern materials and notions until Mother's Day. 
• I received a beautiful May Basket from my swap partner and will share as soon as we get some sun in the house.   
• Finally, have you seen the new shipping supplies at the Post Office (those are bubble mailers pictured above)?  I wouldn't normally recommend buying supplies at the Post Office...a little pricey but I can never resist cute packaging.  

  Happy May Day!